Here’s a look back at some of the tracks that defined Dolly Parton’s career... In 1973, Parton released ‘Jolene,’ which grew into one of her most famous songs and a defining staple of country music. Parton told NPR in 2008 that the song was inspired by a flirtatious bank teller who seemed in…
Dolly Parton was the last star in music everyone in America could agree on. Her brilliant career as a carefully-sculpted backwoods icon (one with unmatched insight into the human heart) told the nation stories it craved to hear about itself — songs about resilience and dignity under poverty and labor, how to hold conflicting feelings of devotion and loss.
Dolly Parton attended Sevier County High School in Tennessee.
Provided by Pigeon Forge Public Library
Dolly Parton prepares backstage for an RCA Records breakfast and show at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in 1973.
Joe Rudis, The Tennessean
Dolly Parton sings June 28, 1987, at Summerfest in Milwaukee.
Larry Mishkar, Milwaukee Journal
Dolly Parton grew up with music. "My mother's people were musical, mostly gospel, but my mother and all of her people play some musical instruments, and some of my daddy's people."
Mike DuBose / The Tennessean
Dolly Parton performs Oct. 12, 2019, at her 50th Grand Ole Opry Membership Anniversary at the Opry House in Nashville.
Larry McCormack, The Tennessean
Dolly Parton reads her children’s book, “Coat of Many Colors,” to a group of kids during an event announcing her first children’s album, “I Believe In You,” in 2017.
Shelley Mays/The Tennessean
A young resident of Asheville, North Carolina, leaves her copy of "Lily's Cat Mask," the last book she received from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, beneath a mural of Dolly Parton painted by artist Gus Cutty as an offering in the hours following Parton's death on Aug. 25, 2026.
Casey Blake/USA TODAY
Singer Dolly Parton performs with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders during halftime in the game between the Cowboys and the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium.
